The fixed half smile from my Aunt followed by a “good for you” pushed me to write a post about my job as a copywriter. What is a copywriter? The most difficult part is first trying to convince those who ask that it’s a real profession. I sometimes find it easier to say I am a writer, but unfortunately the image of me Angela Lansbury-ing it by typing rhythmically as page by page my novel appears is not quite accurate. I don’t have a typewriter for starters, and my dress sense is marginally better, not to mention my face instead of resembling a dried up piece of fruit suggests life is still resident- just.

“So you write stories then?” encourages the semi interested relative. In fact I do write stories; I come up with opening lines and bits of dialogue and sporadic moments of plot realisation all the time. Still, that’s not what I get paid for and again it is not the job of a copywriter.
My main function, and by this I mean the one that covers the majority of my outgoings, is writing copy for the web. Web copywriting is a marketing tool and the role has grown with the increased popularity of moving businesses online. Have I lost you in the jargon yet? I hope not, because my intention is to be clear; a rather consistent and essential trait of those who work with words for a living. Perhaps therefore it was my vocal delivery that lost my Aunt to the exciting activity of clearing the dishes from the table and leaving the room.
“I write articles” I shout. Her head pokes back eyes hopeful “for magazines?” Here is where I justify my university education and the fact I have not yet produced a brood of drooling dependants “yes, for magazines”, and then came a smile of vague recognition, my gold star.

The Copywriting Character

For the benefit of my troubled audience this post is written to clear up some of the confusion about what a copywriter does. Perhaps my skills in putting this together may spread word of mouth amongst my family or at least help educate those who are genuinely interested in copywriting. I live in hope.
A copywriter is a flexible character. The universal traits include the ability to write clearly, accurately and creatively. Where text is found on paper, on screen or online the assumption is that a copywriter has been employed to write it.
Spelling, grammar and punctuation are the fundamental elements to the job, but depending on the chosen industry additional functions need factored in. Areas such as science and medicine require specialist copywriters qualified in the discipline. With that aside a good copywriter can work on a broad level across ‘genres’, the more open to this approach a copywriter appears the likelihood of securing work increases.

Web Writing

I write web copy. This involves writing clear text for websites by using specific techniques; mainly SEO (search engine optimisation), a procedure in which keywords are incorporated into the copy for the website to rank (ideally on page one) when exploring search engines. Although the keywords play an essential role, quality copy is paramount to the operation. For instance a website may appear on page one of Google, but for users to stay and read the content good copy is vital. The technicalities of this are best left for another post, but working on the most basic of principals if someone types ‘hotel’ into Google, you are sure to find the leisure brand that I write for.

Copy on Paper

Copywriting is also used in print. Brochures, reports, posters, newspapers and magazines all require the skill of a copywriter and I am happy to say I contribute in this capacity too. Article writing is a personal favourite and allows a degree of creativity and interesting research not often afforded by editing say a dry financial document or business report. Copywriting is arguably an umbrella term for those who work in print. Subeditors, writers and editorial staff require the skills of a copywriter to function; the ability to write, research and edit with flair is key to success.
I intend to discuss the different roles in more detail at a later stage.

Copywriters write copy, simple. Copy can appear in a multitude of places from the keyword optimised homepage of a website, to the list of ingredients on the back of a shampoo bottle. As discussed it involves accuracy in terms of spelling, punctuation and grammar. On occasion it’s used to persuade an audience, but nearly always functions to promote a point. In terms of length it can form a short punchy headline or a long detailed article.

“Ah, so you are a journalist then?” I sigh and collect the last of the dishes.